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  • Published: 6 November 2014
  • ISBN: 9780241970959
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 464

The Architect's Apprentice




A sweeping, magical novel from Elif Shafak set in 16th-century Istanbul, bursting with colour, romance and white elephants

Sixteenth-century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no possessions, except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.

So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan’s court. Along the way, he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey with Chota to the furthest corners of the kingdom and back again. And one day, he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan’s fortunes for ever.

The Architect’s Apprentice is a magical, sweeping tale of one boy and his elephant, caught up in a world of wonder and danger.

  • Published: 6 November 2014
  • ISBN: 9780241970959
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 464

About the author

Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into fifty-seven languages. The author of twenty books, fourteen of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Shafak's previous novel, THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY, was the UK’s bestselling literary hardback novel of 2025, selling over 500,000 copies. Her work has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, amongst others, and she is currently nominated for ‘Author of the Year’ at the British Book Awards. Elif Shafak was appointed President of the Royal Society of Literature in 2025. Her books have sold several million copies worldwide.

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